91 Suburban 4wd front brakes, bearings, hubs

It's in decent shape but needs a few things. First issues...
Front wheen bearings are quite loose. You'd barely know it by driving it, but when I jacked it up there was around half an inch of free play at the tire edge. It also needs frt pads, so I'm going to tear into it and do the entire frt brakes, including replacing the cracking hoses.

It's got Superwinch manual locking hubs. How good are these? I don't have any experience with them. Done plenty of 4wd hub servicing/repair over the years, but don't know this brand. Anything to watch for? I'm also looking for pros and cons of replacing these hubs with automatic locking hubs so I don't have to get out to change them when I want to go to 4wd or back. Any recommendations one way or the other?

It also needs a set of shocks. Recommendations?

Last question: Since I'm going to replace the frt hoses, I'll need to bleed the brakes. This truck has RABS. I haven't bled ABS before and am not sure what I'm getting into.
I'm a retired mechanic but pretty much got out of it before ABS was common. So any suggestions/pointers on RABS bleeding techniques would be appreciated.

Thanks much!

Charlie

Attached Files:

Sounds like an afternoon of fun. The Superwinch hubs aren't bad - comparable to Warns. For typical light to moderate 4wd use I wouldnt expect any issues. Automatic hubs....thats your call....I'm a fan of manuals however. Shocks - budget Rancho's arent bad for stock height 'Burbs...I've seen a few guys also run Monroe's and Gabriels at stock height and never heard a complaint...

Superwinch hubs are good, best of all parts are still made for them. Superwinch sells a hub rebuild kit and a field repair kit for those hubs, check their website.
I prefer manual hubs, they can be easier to repair in the field.
Replacing the hubs with auto hubs could be hard to do, most guys tossed them in the trash after they swapped to manual hubs, the auto hubs had a rep for letting you down when you needed them most.

Bleeding ABS isnt a lot different on this yr model truck than what your used to, make sure if the truck has a rear Bypass Valve (BPV) you bleed it first. I know your doing front brakes but with the ABS system if you dont bleed the BPV whenever opening the system any air in the system will start collecting there first.